Students with Special Needs

Policies & Procedures

Central Penn College values individuals who desire to overcome disabling conditions to achieve their academic goals. The College does not discriminate against students with disabilities, and stands ready to assist when accommodations can reasonably be provided.

Not every social, physical, mental, emotional and academic limitation is a disability. Each of us has different skills and limitations to which we must adapt to thrive as adult members of our communities. When, however, a limitation substantially impairs one or more of a student's major life activities, the College stands ready to assist, to the extent that it reasonably can do so.

As part of the educational process, students with disabilities are expected to develop good self-advocacy skills and to have full knowledge of the impact of their disabilities. If a student requires assistance, his or her disability should be identified to a campus professional designated in this policy. Appropriate documentation should be provided, and any needed accommodations should be requested within a reasonable time frame. The designated campus professional to contact is Dean of Students Kathy Andersen. Incoming students are encouraged to submit documentation as soon as they make their decisions to attend the College and certainly no later than sixty (60) days prior to the date of anticipated matriculation.

Faculty and staff will endeavor to provide reasonable accommodations that are requested in a timely manner, are appropriately documented, and do not compromise the integrity of a course or degree program. The College will endeavor to protect a student from discrimination and to educate faculty about the needs of individuals with disabilities. Although faculty members are ultimately responsible for providing reasonable access to their classroom and other educational opportunities, it is the student's responsibility to follow established procedures for requesting accommodations he or she believes are necessary.

A disabled student is expected to be proactive in requesting accommodations. The process includes the following steps:

The student should identify the disabling condition and its symptoms.

The student must provide a recent, appropriate evaluation, from a licensed medical professional familiar with the disability, to the designated campus professional and make a follow-up appointment to discuss accommodations.

The disability identified in the evaluation must fall within the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under the Act, a person with a disability is one who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.

If the symptoms of a student's disability are ones that could result in more than one possible diagnosis, the evaluation should include the specific diagnosis, and a discussion of why other diagnoses have been rejected.

The student should specify what accommodations, if any, he or she is requesting to mitigate the disabling condition.

If a student has requested any accommodations to mitigate a disabling condition, the evaluation should discuss the appropriateness of the request(s), and how it/they will assist in mitigating the limitations created by the disability.

When the accommodation involves a faculty member, the student must meet with him or her as well.

Any concerns, disputes, or questions regarding accommodations should be directed to both the professional who holds the documentation or to the Chief Academic Officer. Informal and formal grievance procedures are available if necessary.

After appropriate assessment of a student's documentation, and consideration of the student's current functional disability and any requested accommodations, campus professionals will make recommendations regarding support services and/or accommodations. The College is unable to provide accommodations requiring extensive personal services such as attendants, drivers, interpreters or speech therapists. All requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Central Penn College is a career-oriented, baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate, residential college in Summerdale, a suburb of Harrisburg, with an offsite location in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Central Penn College offers associate, bachelor's and master's degree programs for both traditional and continuing education students by providing hands-on and online distance education taught by experienced, caring faculty.